Chris Schlarb

Psychic Temple II

It may seem hard to imagine a place where indie rock visionaries like Sufjan Stevens and Castanets’ Ray Raposa could meld minds with the genius of Brian Wilson, where death metal pioneer Paul Masvidal might wield his legendary six-string chops on a blissed-out soul ballad, where adventurous young jazz players like Kris Tiner and Devin Hoff share credit with Mars Volta keyboardist Ikey Owens and singer/songwriter Aaron Roche.

Long Beach composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist (not to mention truck driver) Chris Schlarb has not only imagined such a place but has now made it manifest for a second time. Released by Asthmatic Kitty, Psychic Temple II is a labor of love, envisioned by Schlarb to bring his most far-ranging inspirations to life – as he puts it, “a dream ensemble that could never actually exist.” The ensemble’s sophomore release was painstakingly constructed over more than a year with the cooperation of some of the most progressive musical minds from a staggering variety of genres.

“I love interesting juxtapositions, where you bring together people from different communities,” Schlarb says. He cites iconoclastic predecessors like Bill Laswell’s ever-changing group Material, which once brought together a young Whitney Houston with jazz legend Archie Shepp and future Soundgarden and Red Hot Chili Peppers producer Michael Beinhorn to cover a song by Hugh Hopper of English prog-rock pioneers Soft Machine. On 2010’s Psychic Temple, Schlarb assembled a 29-member ensemble that included Minutemen bassist Mike Watt, vocalist Julianna Barwick, and pianist Mick Rossi of the Philip Glass Ensemble.

“It seems like a crazy combination of people,” Schlarb says, “but they’re all just musicians. Why not bring them all together? It may not always work, but it’s always worth reaching further.”

Psychic Temple II reaches beyond the long-form experiments of its predecessor for a more tightly focused yet conceptually dense collection whose songs are no less exploratory for their briefer durations. “I never see the point in continuing to regurgitate,” Schlarb says of the new album’s unique direction. “What was natural at that time would now feel contrived. I have to keep moving forward.”

Psychic Temple had its origins in Create (!), a large improvising ensemble with which Schlarb used to perform. The free-form group would often incorporate multiple drummers, a concept that Schlarb decided to pursue in a more composition-oriented setting. No matter how much Psychic Temple mutates from track to track, the rhythmic possibilities of its two drummers (in this case, Tabor Allen and Andrew Pompey) remain intact.

Schlarb’s imaginative leaps are evidenced from the outset of Psychic Temple II, on the intoxicating opening track, “Seventh House.” Featuring the sinuous vocals of Sarah Negahdari, who recently served as touring bassist for Silversun Pickups, the song weaves together lyrical and musical references to Neil Young’s “Will To Love,” to the Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers album Pisces, and to Sheena Easton’s notorious Prince-penned pop hit “Sugar Walls.”

Then there’s “The Starry King Hears Laughter” and “She Is the Golden World,” two songs that pay simultaneous homage to poet William Blake and jazz legend Bill Evans; or “Solo in Place,” Schlarb’s attempt to filter classic soul through his own “weird prism,” a missing link between the Isley Brothers and the Alan Parsons Project that features guitar wizard Paul Masvidal of the death metal band Death and experimental rockers Cynic.

Despite such a mind-blowing array of talent from the farthest reaches of the musical spectrum, Psychic Temple II is a surprisingly cohesive album, a testament to Schlarb’s clear controlling vision. “One of the fundamental flaws of modern music is the idea of the record as a pastiche,” he says. “With hip-hop and R&R records starting in the ‘90s, you had ten tracks with ten different producers so every track sounded completely different. There was no aesthetic where you could just put on a record and listen to it beginning to end. I admire people who are control freaks.”

Schlarb has wielded control over a number of vastly different projects himself. The New York Observer called his debut solo album, Twilight & Ghost Stories, “40 minutes of avant-garde bliss,” while Interoceans, recorded with experimental jazz duo I Heart Lung, was chosen by NPR as one of the top five jazz albums of 2008. He composed the score for Nicklas “Nifflas” Nygren’s video game Nightsky and has received grants from the Canada Council for the Arts and Meet the Composer. In 2001, Schlarb founded the eclectic Sounds Are Active record label, which has released music by the likes of Nels Cline, Mike Watt, and Castanets.